Warehousing system and apparatus therefor

ABSTRACT

Power-driven warehouse equipment facilitates accurate and rapid selection of articles of commerce for distribution to warehouse outlets. A mobile track-mounted order-selection vehicle under the control of a warehouseman moves along an aisle formed by storage racks arranged in rows. Each rack is divided into compartments or slots, each slot containing cases, cartons or containers of a designated article of commerce. As the vehicle moves along the slots, selection of type and quantity of containers is made in accordance with a predetermined program carried by the driver of the vehicle in accordance with order picking instructions displayed for him by a display unit on the vehicle. Following selection of the requisite type and quantity of containers, each container is automatically labeled with a label which indicates the type, quantity and destination information imprinted thereon according to a program, and the containers are mechanically transported to an area where they are automatically diverted to accomplish assembly of orders in accordance with their proper destination.

United States Patent Primary ExaminerGerald M. Forlenza AssistantExammer-Raymond B Johnson AttorneysFrancis W Anderson and C. E. TrippABSTRACT: Power-driven warehouse equipment facilitates accurate andrapid selection of articles of commerce for distribution to warehouseoutlets. A mobile track-mounted order-selection vehicle under thecontrol of a warehouseman moves along an aisle formed by storage racksarranged in rows. Each rack is divided into compartments or slots, eachslot containing cases, cartons or containers of a designated article ofcommerce. As the vehicle moves along the slots, selection of type andquantity of containers is made in accordance with a predeterminedprogram carried by the driver of the vehicle in accordance with orderpicking instructions displayed for him by a display unit on the vehicle.Following selection of the requisite type and quantity of containers,each container is automatically labeled with a label which indicates thetype, quantity and destination information imprinted thereon accordingto a program, and the containers are mechanically transported to an areawhere they are automatically diverted to accomplish assembly of ordersin accordance with their proper destination.

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sum 1 0F 4 l' 7r I I INVENTOR. STANLEY M. WEIR ATTORNEYS PATENTEU FEB 9ISYI ATTORNEYS PATENIEUFEB 911111 3551 1519 IO N 1n (I) J INVENTORSTANLEY M. WEIR me. a V1 ATTORNEYS WAREI-IOIJSING SYSTEM AND APPARATUSTHEREFOR This application is a division of US. Pat. Application Ser, No,697,942 filed Jan. 15, 1968 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,447,699 issued Jun. 3,I969.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to warehouseequipment, and particularly to power-driven warehouse equipment whichfacilitates selection and sorting of articles of commerce in containersdestined for different consumer outlets.

Receipt by a main warehouse facility of a multiplicity of orders from amultiplicity of stores requires that orders must be filled withspecified goods ordered by each store. An approach presently used is fora warehouseman to walk up and down the aisles between the racks of slotsand pick the individual items that have been ordered by a retail store,loading these items onto a push cart. But such a process requires manyman-hours because each clerk picks all of the goods destined for asingle order one order at a time.

A more efficient method of filling such multiplicity of orders would beto provide one warehouseman with the means for selecting during a singlepass through the warehouse aisle all of the commodities ordered by abatch or group of stores. Accordingly, it is one of the principalobjects of the present invention to provide warehouse equipment that, inconjunction with a predetermined program which lists the commodities tobe supplied to a group of stores, may be operated by a warehouseman topermit selection and transport of the ordered merchandise for a group ofconsumer outlets or stores.

The function of selection of goods from individual storage slots orcompartments in the main warehouse facility is generally effected at apoint that is remote from the shipping or loading area at which thegoods specified by various orders are assembled and loaded into trucksdestined for the separate outlets. Accordingly, it is another object ofthe invention to provide a mobile vehicle which may range up and downthe aisles of a main warehouse facility and transfer selected containersof merchandise onto a transport system which will deliver the selectedcontainers an automatic sorting mechanism for further delivery toselected loading areas.

In order that selected containers of merchandise delivered to a sorterbe segregated into appropriate groups for transport to designatedoutlets, it is essential that such containers be identified as to theirdestination. Accordingly, it is a still further object of the inventionto provide, in conjunction with a motorized vehicle, means by whichtheselected containers are labeled in correlation with the program thatdictates selection and destination of the containers.

It is, of course, desirable that warehousing equipment he designed topermit a single individual to handle a maximum number of containers in agiven work interval. Accordingly, it is another object of the inventionto provide a motorized vehicle capable of carrying a workman along withthe containers selected so as to minimize fatigue of the warehousemanand increase his productivity.

Containers such as cartons and cases of merchandise are frequentlypalletized and handled with forklift trucks. Such pallets areconventionally stacked in rack slots or compartments and containers areselected directly from the pallets. Accordingly, it is yet anotherobject of the invention to provide a place on the motorized vehicle onwhich empty pallets may be stacked as they are emptied during theselection process.

The invention possesses other object and features of advantage, some ofwhich, with the foregoing, will become ap parent from the followingdescription and the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that theinvention is not limited to the embodiment illustrated and described, asit may be embodied in various forms within the scope of the appendedclaims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In terms of broad inclusion, the inventioncomprises a warehousing system and apparatus therefor to facilitate thestorage, selection, sorting and loading of merchandise destined for amultiplicity of consumer outlets or stores. In its simplest aspect,articles of merchandise packed in containers are stored in rack slotsarranged in spaced rows. The slots are approximately as high as a manmay conveniently reach, and the floors of the slots are inclined sothat, as containers are removed from the front of the slot, thecontainers immediately behind the one removed will move to the forwardend of the slot to facilitate successive removal. A motorized vehicle,preferably guided along a trackway in the aisle between opposed rows ofrack slots, carries a warehouseman along the rows of racks to permitselection of predetermined types of merchandise from the separate rackslots. The selection is made in accordance with a program carried by themotorized vehicle and coded to indicate the type of merchandise to beselected, the quantity and destination thereof. Labeling apparatus,working in conjunction with the program indicating type, quantity anddestination is effective to apply a coded label to a selected container.Means on the motorized vehicle is effective to deliver the selected andlabeled container to a moving transport system designed to deliver theselected and labeled containers to a remote sorting and loading station.It is, of course, apparent that the rack slots may be arranged in tiersat different levels with motorized vehicles working each level. Trailermeans are provided on the motorized jitney to facilitate removal ofempty pallets on which containers have been stacked.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 .is a schematic perspectiveview illustrating the warehousing system and apparatus of the invention.

FIG. 2A is a side elevation in enlarged scale illustrating the rearportion of the motorized vehicle of the present invention and a palletcart attached to the vehicle.

FIG. 2B is a side elevation in enlarged scale illustrating the frontportion of the motorized vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the vehicle illustrated in FIG. 2A, the viewbeing taken looking in the direction of arrows 3-3 of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the central or main section of the vehicle inrelation to the transport mechanism for carrying the selectedmerchandise to a sorting zone, the view being taken looking downwardlyin the direction of arrows 4-4 of FIG. 2B.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The warehousing of merchandisefor an interim pending distribution ro retail outlets involves manydifferent problems. One these problems is the necessity to maintain aperpetual inventory indicating the goods on hand and their locationwithin the warehouse. Another problem involves the size of orderreceived at the warehouse facility, and the size of order likely to beshipped from the warehouse facility to retail outlets. In someinstances, merchandise is received in the warehouse on pallets and isshipped from the warehouse on pallets, the quan tities being such thatoff-loading individual containers from the pallet is unnecessary. Inother instances, merchandise must be off-loaded from pallets, stacked inindividual bins, and then picked for reshipment as individual containersupon appropriate order from a consumer outlet. The flow of merchandisewithin the warehouse facility must be arranged so that outgoingmerchandise is not confused or mixed with incoming merchandise, andarranged further so that selection of merchandise may be accurately andrapidly made from storage. Where a commodity is received in pallet-sizedloads, but is invariably shipped out in individual containers, it isnecessary to arrange the warehousing system so that individualcontainers may be picked from pallet-sized loads.

Referring specifically to HO. 1, there is provided a warehousing systemand apparatus for handling merchandise stored in a warehouse, comprisinga main storage section designated generally by the numeral 2, and madeup of a pair of longitudinally extending and parallel storage racks 3and 4 spaced apart as shown, with each rack preferably formed by aplurality of superposed tiers. Each rack is conveniently fabricated fromstructural iron and includes upright members 6 and 7, secured togetheradjacent their lower ends by a transversely extending rail 8, andsecured together at their upper ends by a transversely extending rail 9.An intermediate rail 11 connects the vertical members 6 and 7, andextends across the space between the racks to tie the two rackstogether. Longitudinal stringers l2 connecting the upper ends of theupright members 6 and 7 extend the full length of the racks and connectopposite ends thereof. Vertically spaced between the stringers l2 andthe floor on which the racks are supported are auxiliary longitudinalstringers 13, each of which extends between adjacent upright members 7,and pairs of which serve to support opposite ends of roller conveyors 14which extend transversely through each rack from front to back.

As indicated in FIG. 1, each of the roller conveyors 14 is nclinedtoward the front of each rack so that containers of merchandise 16placed thereon will be caused to move down the incline into position atthe forward end of each rack. To facilitate filling of the rollerconveyors 14, each of the racks is adapted to be filled from the rearand for this purpose an auxiliary storage area designated generally bythe numeral 17 is provided closely adjacent the rear side of each of themain storage racks 3 and 4. Each storage area 17 is provided with anupright auxiliary storage rack constituting a framework 18, formed fromstructural iron and including vertical, transverse and longitudinalmembers secured together to form a rigid structure. intermediate its topand bottom, the auxiliary rack is divided into compartments bytransverse rails 19, within which compartments are positioned andsupported pallets 21 loaded with containers 22.

Loading of the compartments or slots in each of the main racks isfacilitated, especially in the upper tiers, by flooring in the form of acatwalk 23 connected to the floor by ladder 24. it will thus be seenthat with the auxiliary racks filled with palletized containers, awarehouseman may walk along the catwalk, remove containers from thepallets, and load the roller conveyors in the adjacent main racks. inthis manner, the roller conveyors are maintained full for facility ofselection of various merchandise from the front side of each slot. Itwill, of course, be apparent that each of the slots contained in themain racks is indexed so that only merchandise scheduled to be stored ina specific slot is placed in pallet sized loads in the adjacentauxiliary storage racks 18.

With each of the slots filled with a predetermined type of merchandise,it is only necessary for a warehouseman to range up and down the aislein front of or between the two main racks and make his selection ofmerchandise ordered by consumer outlets. As previously discussed, thismay be effected by a'warehouseman taking each individual order andselecting from the bins the types and quantities of merchandiseindicated by the order. This procedure would ordinarily require that thewarehouseman range up and down the aisle, first traversing the aisle inone direction and then traversing the aisle in the opposite direction,in order to effect filling of the order. Obviously, such procedure istime consuming and wasteful and to be avoided if possible.

A more efficient method of selection is to arrange the orders insequence of merchandise corresponding to the sequence in which thedesignated merchandise is stored in the slots. According to this methodthe warehouseman would be required to make only one pass along the aisleand select from either rack whatever merchandise was indicated. Thissingle order would ordinarily be collected on a pallet carried by a cartor pallet truck for delivery to the loading area for placement in theappropriate truck for transport to its proper destination. The nextorder would be filled in substantially the same manner. it will thus beapparent that such 'm'ethodof handling merchandise is also timeconsuming and wasteful and; is susceptible of introducing errors intothe selection process and in loading it on awrong truck, thus resultingin a given order of merchandise being delivered to the wrong store orconsumer outlet.

A much more efficient method is to batch orders such that thewarehouseman selects orders for a group of stores on one pass throughthe warehouse stock. The apparatus for carrying out this method isillustrated in FIG. 1, and includes the arrangement of specificmerchandise in predetermined slots, ar ranged in a predeterminedsequence. Disposed between the main racks 3 and 4 is a trackway 26,conveniently supported on the opposed uprights 7 or on the supportingfloor when the 1 trackway is associated with the lowermost tier ofracks, and supported in a similar manner on the uprights 7 inconjunction with the transversely extending stringer 11 when thetrackway 26 is supported in association with the tier next above theground floor and in association with succeeding .tiers. The trackway ispreferably of narrow gauge and extends the full length of the main racksso that a mobile order selection vehicle, designated generally by thenumeral 27, may move longitudinally along the trackway adjacent thefronts of the main racks. The trackway is preferably fabricated fromstructural iron in the form of opposed channels, with the depth of thechannels being such that a longitudinally extending main conveyor belt28"may be disposed between the channels for operation in cooperationwith the mobile vehicle in a manner which will hereinafter be explainedin greater detail.

As indicated in FIG. 1, the trackway, with the enclosed conveyor belt,extends the full length of the main racks and terminates at 29 inoperative association with a transition conveyor 31 traveling in thesame direction as the main conveyor belt, and adapted to receive thereoncontainers carried by the main conveyor belt. The transition conveyoroperates in conjunction with an elevator mechanism designated generallyby the numeral 32, and constituting in general the type of elevatormechanism described and claimed in copending application Ser. No.530,057 assigned to the assignee of the instant invention. For detailsofconstruction, reference is made to such copending application, thedescription of the elevator mechanism being included herein byreference.

in brief, the elevator mechanism comprises upper and lower pairs ofsprockets driven by appropriate means and carryingendless chains onwhich at spaced intervals are secured a plurality of platforms 33 formedin the nature of parallel tines which are spaced apart and retained in ahorizontal attitude at all times. The spaced tines of the platform 33follow the move-.

ment of the chains while being maintained in a substantially horizontalplane by cam followers, and are moved upwardly through the spacesbetween support bars 34 onto which the transition conveyor 31deliverscontainers. Thus, a container supported on the bars 34 will beelevated by a platform 33 rising from beneath it, and will be carriedupwardly to be deposited on a transition platform 36, the individualrollers of which are power-driven to move the container onto an=adjacent conveyor belt 37 which terminates in operative association with amain transport conveyor 38 as shown. As explained in said applicationSer. No. 530,057, a gate mechanism is disposed at the entrance to theelevator and is actuated by the elevator to coordinate the movement ofthe articles onto the elevator with the upward movement of the platforms33 of the elevator.

The main transport conveyonpreferably extends theentire length of themain racks, and terminates at an appropriate sorting area not shownherein but explained and illustrated in; detail in the copendingapplication noted above. It will thus beseen that the elevator mechanismat each end of each aisle is, susceptible of elevating onto the main rantransport conveyor containers selected from both upper and lower tiersof both main racks 3 and 4, thus minimizingthe amount of equipmentrequired to handle a given amount of merchandise.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, it will there be seen that the mobilevehicle 27 is comprised of a metal framework including longitudinal siderails 41, conveniently in the form of channels turned inwardly towardeach other, and rigidly secured at opposite ends by crossmembers 42.Mobility to the vehicle is provided by pairs of wheels 43 joumaled ateach opposite end of the channel frame members on appropriate brackets44. The wheels are preferably flanged as indicated best in FIG. 3 withthe flange extending below the top surface of the longitudinal railsforming the trackway. Attached to each of channels 41 are a plurality ofgussets 46, the outer ends of which are joined by longitudinallyextending angle bars 47. Supported on the angle bars and intermediatelongitudinally extending rails 41 is a workdeck 48, conveniently ofplywood, on which a warehouseman may stand during selection ofmerchandise and operation of the vehicle. A guardrail 49 attached to therear of the vehicle provides a measure of safety for the warehousemanriding on the workdeck.

The workdeck extends forward to about the midpoint of the frame definedby the rails 41 and 42. Supported on the forward end portions of therails 41 is a rigid and upright framework 52 formed by vertical angleiron members 53 extending upwardly from the frame and connected at theirupper ends by rearwardly extending angle iron members 54. Trusstypeangle bars 56 and 57 having their upper ends rigidly welded to the rails54 and their lower ends welded to the members of the frame lend rigidityto the framework. Extending transversely across the rails 54 andsupported by the framework is a horizontal workplate or table 58 whichforms a work surface provided with a plurality of freely rotatable ballbearings 59 as shown. The work table is preferably positioned withrespect to the workdeck 48 so that a warehouseman standing on theworkdeck may conveniently remove containers from the adjacent main racksand place them on the work table to be rollably supported thereon by theroller bearings 59. As shown best in FIG. 4, the work table is generallyU-shaped with forward portions 61 and 62 spaced apart a distancecorresponding to the width of the trackway 26 as shown. The portions 61and 62 of the table 58 are joined together by a crosspiece 63, alsoprovided with balls on which a container may be rollably supported.

Pivotally supported on the framework 52 adjacent the crosspiece 63 ofthe work table 58 is a light roller conveyor 64, preferably fabricatedfrom aluminum, and inclined so that its lower end portion 66 issuspended above the conveyor belt 28. The roller conveyor is supportedin this suspended position by one or more support posts 67 adjustable tovary the height of the forward or lower end portion 66 of the rollerconveyor. It will thus be seen that containers placed by thewarehouseman on the work table 58 may be moved across the table,oriented in a desired position and pushed onto the roller conveyor 64 sothat they are transferred onto the moving conveyor belt 28.

Selection of merchandise is effected in accordance with the methoddescribed and claimed in my copending application Ser. No. 530,057assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. As theredescribed in greater detail, orders for merchandise received at the mainwarehousing facility from a multiplicity of ordering outlets are codedin terms of the type of merchandise required, the quantity required andits ultimate destination. Such information is programmed and processedthrough an appropriate computer which correlates the information at veryhigh speed and causes it to be printed on individual labels correlatedin terms of type, quantity and destination, and arranged on a tape madeup of a backing strip on which labels are removably secured in singletile array. In one arrangement, the indicia indicating the type andnumber of articles to be picked are man-readable, while the destinationof the article is in machine-readable indicia.

The labels are arranged on each strip in correlation to the sequence inwhich the merchandise is stored in individual slots in the mainwarehousing facility. Such tape of successive labels is then loaded intoan appropriate feed mechanism on the side of a housing 69 of a labellingmachine 70 which is illustrated and described in much greater detail inmy above noted copending application, included herein by reference. Thetape of labels is fed upwardly to successively position each labelbehind an aperture 71 in a plate 72 mounted in fixed position alongsideconveyor 64. As each package passes aperture 7l, a pusher foot isactuated to push the label through the aperture and press it against thepackage.

The label, that is next behind the label adjacent aperture 71, isilluminated and its indicia is projected onto a screen 73 by aprojection mechanism which is generally indicated by numeral 74. Thus,the operator can read the indicia telling him the type of article he isto pick next and the number of articles of that type that must still bepicked.

Placement of the selected container on the work table 58 enables thewarehouseman to properly orient the container and transfer the containeronto the inclined roller conveyor 64 in an appropriate attitude forpassage past the labeling machine 70. The labeling machine also works inconjunction with the tape so that the label, which was projected forviewing by the operator to initiate the selection of the container, iscaused to be impressed and adhered to the side of the container selectedwhile a spring-loaded presser bar 64A urges the package against the sideplate 72. As mentioned above and as described in my above-identifiedcopending application, each of the labels is also coded withmachine-readable information capable of being read electronically at thesorting area in order to activate a diverting mechanism which willdivert each individual container to a predetermined chute (not shown)associated with a particular destination or retail outlet.

Movement of the vehicle 27 along the trackway 26 is effectedelectrically through the use of a motor 75, connected through a gearbox76 with the front pair of wheels 43. A chain 74 conveniently connectsthe wheels 43 to the drive shaft extending from gearbox 76. The motor ispreferably a direct current drive motor reversible so as to permit backand forth motion of the vehicle 27. Control of the motor is effected bythe warehouseman by means of manipulating a handle 77, journaled on theframework 52 and connected by a link 78 with an appropriate controlmechanism 79, linked through appropriate switch means 81 with the motor.As indicated in FIG. 2B, movement of the control handle 77 upwardly intothe R position will effect reverse movement of the vehicle, whereasmovement of the control handle 77 downwardly into the F position willeffect forward movement of the vehicle. A neutral position N is alsoprovided. Power to the motor is derived by means of a cable 82 (FIG. 3)arranged to wrap about a spring-loaded takeup reel 83 joumaled on theframework 52 on appropriate gusset plates 84.

The main conveyor belt 28 onto which the containers are transferred fromthe roller conveyor 64 is preferably joumaled at each opposite end onappropriate drums 86, with the belt being tensioned by takeup rollers87. The upper and lower reaches of the conveyor belt are supported atintervals therealong by appropriate rollers 88.

Where containers of merchandise are stacked in the warehousing facilityon pallets, and selection is made directly from pallet loads, itfrequently happens that when all of the containers have been removedfrom a pallet, the pallet must then be disposed of in order that anotherpallet load may be placed in the rack. To facilitate such removal, apallet cart designated generally by the numeral 91 is provided asillustrated best in FIG. 2A. The pallet cart is preferably formed with aframe 92, supporting front and rear pairs of wheels 93, and during useis coupled to the rear end of the mobile jitney by a hitch 94. Anappropriate floor or wooden framework 96 is provided to support thepallets 97 above the wheels 93. it will thus be seen that as thewarehouseman progresses down an aisle selecting containers ofmerchandise, when he encounters a pallet that has been off-loadedcompletely, it is a simple matter for him to lift the pallet out of thecompartment and place it on the trailer 91, thus enabling placement ofanother pallet loaded with containers within the compartment.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that the presentinvention provides a simple effective system for picking and processingarticles in a warehouse. The disposition of the conveyor beit at a pointlower than the work table 58, and its operation independently of thevehicle makes possible a relatively inexpensive conveyor system that isstill capable of servicing the articles dispensed by the vehicle in allpositions of the vehicle. The ability of the vehicle to move relative tothe conveyor results in a system wherein the conveying system iseffectively shortened or lengthened by the selective positioning of thevehicle.

it will be evident that the roller conveyor 64 could be replaced by agravity chute, or a power-driven belt conveyor with or withouttransverse article-engaging cleats. Accordingly, in the annexed claimsthe term transporter will be used generically to include all means thatare equivalent to the roller conveyor 64.

Although the best mode contemplated for carrying out the presentinvention has been herein shown and described, it will be apparent thatmodification and variation may be made without departing from what isregarded to be the subject matter of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

I claim:

l A warehouse system comprising: Means defining article storagecompartments disposed side-by-side along an aisle and having openings insaid compartments facing said aisle for the removal of articles fromsaid compartments; a vehicle movable in said aisle past the opening insaid compartments; an operators workdeck on said vehicle; means forsupporting said vehicle for movement in said aisle; endless conveyingmeans having a portion disposed in said aisle below the base of thevehicle and being disposed parallel to said means for supporting saidvehicle; transfer means on said vehicle for receiving articles removedfrom selected compartments and directing them downward onto said endlessconveying means for conveyance to a sorting area, said transfer meansincluding an article receiving and support means mounted on said vehicleat a position above said workdeck and aninclined article transporterhaving an upper end adjacent said article receiving and support meansand a lower end adjacent said endless conveyor means for deliveringarticles to said endless conveying means, antifriction means mounted onsaid article receiving and support means, a recess in said articlereceiving and support means defining an opening for receiving the upperend of said inclined article transporter.

1. A warehouse system comprising: Means defining article storagecompartments disposed side-by-side along an aisle and having openings insaid compartments facing said aisle for the removal of articles fromsaid compartments; a vehicle movable in said aisle past the opening insaid compartments; an operator''s workdeck on said vehicle; means forsupporting said vehicle for movement in said aisle; endless conveyingmeans having a portion disposed in said aisle below the base of thevehicle and being disposed parallel to said means for supporting saidvehicle; transfer means on said vehicle for receiving articles removedfrom selected compartments and directing them downward onto said endlessconveying means for conveyance to a sorting area, said transfer meansincluding an article receiving and support means mounted on said vehicleat a position above said workdeck and an inclined article transporterhaving an upper end adjacent said article receiving and support meansand a lower end adjacent said endless conveyor means for deliveringarticles to said endless conveying means, antifriction means mounted onsaid article receiving and support means, a recess in said articlereceiving and support means defining an opening for receiving the upperend of said inclined article transporter.